Conventional gas burners for open-top gas appliances are designed to operate efficiently up to approximately 20,000 to 30,000 BTUs. Attempts at creating higher output burners that efficiently provide up to 40,000 BTUs of heat have not been successful. Burners which are designed to operate efficiently with an output of 20,000 to 30,000 BTUs will not operate as efficiently at higher outputs. This drop in efficiency has two undesirable results. First, lower efficiency results in an unnecessary waste of fuel which is not completely combusted. Second, the lower efficiency means that more undesirable bi-products, such as carbon monoxide, are produced during combustion.
In order to obtain acceptable efficiency levels at higher outputs, it has been necessary in the past to design the higher output burners from the ground up. Higher output burners tend to be larger than lower output burners and few components are interchangeable. The need to manufacture and maintain a separate inventory of components for high output burners results in increased costs. Furthermore, because higher output burners are often larger than lower output burners, they do not always fit into stoves designed for lower output burners.
Another limitation of conventional gas burners is the lack of an easily removable drip cover. In conventional gas burners, the drip covers are typically cast as an integral part of the burner head. This often limits access to the flame ports in the burner and creates problems when cleaning the burner. The fixed drip cover also limits the adaptability of the burner when a drip cover is not needed.
In view of these problems and disadvantages of conventional gas burners, there exists a need for a high efficiency burner that can produce up to 40,000 BTU's of heat. A need also exists for a gas burner that includes a removable drip cover that allows easier cleaning of the burner ports and that can be removed when not needed.